Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disrupting our classrooms. This new technology is impacting how we write, gather information, and assess our students’ capabilities. The recent revolution of AI can be disorienting to educators as they struggle to keep up with the latest AI trends and not know how to consistently use it in the classroom.
With 86% of students admitting to using AI for school work, educators are moving away from trying to stop students from using AI to familiarizing themselves with the new technology to enhance their teaching and provide highly adaptable, engaged learning.
AI has shifted priorities for educators in the classroom and how we view the future. Schools have now developed AI career paths for their students, and universities are creating AI majors.
According to the World Economic Forum, AI is expected to transform the economy, driving the fastest-growing jobs and fastest-declining jobs. The fastest growing jobs work closely with AI, including Data Specialists, Fintech Engineers, and AI/Machine Learning Specialists.
Advances in AI have led to new pathways to analyze and integrate video, text, and audio seamlessly. AI’s content creation skills are improving; Multimodal AI can provide real-time video analysis and can translate spoken conversations. And NotebookLM can turn a document into a podcast with natural-sounding hosts.
Another way AI is changing is where it exists. Instead of only being accessible through the internet, AI will soon be implanted in personal devices to easily answer questions, no matter where people are.
There is also more competition in the AI industry. Deepseek, a Chinese AI company, produced an alternative to American-made AI for a significantly smaller amount of money. Cheaper, sleeker forms of AI that can answer questions and generate content will certainly shake up the AI landscape moving forward.
But AI agents might be the most eye-catching change. Organizations like HubSpot are creating AI agents that can be integrated into organizations’ workflows to problem-solve, analyze data, and automate mundane tasks. Soon, AI agents will be able to communicate with each other and synchronize schedules or share data for automated collaboration.
Tech companies are not the only organizations interested in AI. With Chinese Deepseek being produced for millions of dollars, President Trump has announced that the U.S. government will invest up to $500 billion in private-sector AI funding to jump ahead in the ongoing AI race. Even the U.S. government is using AI to analyze economic trends to find better ways of predicting financial forecasts and diminishing inflation risks.
Big tech firms are also bullish on the future of AI and the new pathways this technology will yield. Apple will spend over $500 billion in the United States over the next four years alone. Across several states, Apple will invest billions to boost AI and silicon engineering, opening new avenues for students who have an interest in working with AI as a career.
For educators, this level of investment shows that the AI race is only getting started. Funding research into AI and supporting AI literacy among staff and students is essential to the goals of the modern classroom, priming students for the jobs of tomorrow.
While AI has been a concern for teachers, especially in terms of student safety, several AI tools put students’ safety first. Tech companies like Magic School, Diffit, Brisk, etc. have developed tools specifically designed to support learning, teaching, and lesson planning.
For instance, MagicSchool AI has helped thousands of students and teachers learn how to communicate clearly, create lesson plans, develop IEPs, and monitor student progress and activity. AI can even read documents and answer questions about the text. Organizations like MagicSchoolAI foster continuous training for teachers and students that elevates learning.
As AI has become commonplace in homes and workplaces across the country, teachers and students need to know how to use it in our classrooms. Finding safe tools that promote learning should be educators’ top priority.
Eliminating mundane tasks for educators can give teachers more one-on-one time with students and more time to catch up on other complex tasks, providing a lighter workload and reducing burnout.
AI is not just a shortcut. It’s a tool that schools should leverage to help teachers be more effective educators. If your district needs help defining safe AI practices, contact us for more answers.